U.S.Q1 home prices rose in 51% of metro areas

AlanZibel

WASHINGTON -(MarketWatch)- Home prices rose in more than half of U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter of the year as the housing market showed signs of stability after nearly six years of price declines.

The median price for previously occupied homes sold in the January-March quarter rose compared with last year in 74, or 51%, of the 146 areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors, the trade group said Wednesday. Prices fell in 72 metro areas.

The results were a turnaround from the fourth quarter of last year, in which median prices rose in only 29 out of 149 cities tracked by the real estate trade association in that quarter. The national median price for single-family homes sold in the first quarter was $158,100, down 0.4% from the same quarter a year earlier.

Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, said meager supply of lower-priced homes in much of the country should provide a boost to prices. "This is good news for many sellers who wish to list now, or for those waiting for prices to improve," he said.

Home sales in the first quarter were up 4.7% from the fourth quarter of last year and were up 5.3% from the first quarter of 2011, the Realtors' group said.

Nationwide, "distressed property," including foreclosures and homes at risk of foreclosure, accounted for 32% of first-quarter transactions, down from 38% in the fourth quarter of last year, the Realtors' group estimated.

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